When it comes to the greatest siblings in the sporting world, Venus and Serena Williams would surely be on your list somewhere. The Williams sisters truly made their presence felt in the sport with their legendary careers on the court. However, the journey to greatness wasn’t easy for them after coming from a humble background. It was their father, King Richard, who ensured their dream wasn’t crashed, as he worked hard day in and day out. Years later, their ex-coach has pointed out how the Williams sisters were different as kids and how much of impact their father had on their careers.

Early on in their childhood, the Williams sisters were trained by their father. Subsequently, Rick Macci became their first professional coach and he was instrumental in Venus and Serena Williams taking the next step toward greatness. Macci worked closely with the Williams sisters as well as Richard Williams as they chalked out strategies together. Earlier today, Macci took to his official X handle to make a candid confession.

He wrote, “The only difference between Venus and Serena as kids was the first name but when Richard went ballistic the first name changed dramatically! @serenawilliams @Venuseswilliams.”

Rick Macci previously revealed that Venus and Serena were inseparable as kids. They would never fight and would rather walk around holding hands, smiling. Macci even called them ‘two peas in a pod.’ But intense training with King Richard helped their create their own identities.

Recalling the time when he first started working with them, Macci revealed on ATP Tennis Radio Podcast that Serena wasn’t that promising to start with. “They both said ‘Rick, we were literally brainwashed to become No. 1’ and that maybe can work if you have the speed, the quickness and the right coaching but I never talked to either of them and we talked about this even when they were 10 and 11 and Serena was not really that good.”

But King Richard always backed Serena to turn out to be a better player than Venus eventually. “The Compton Comedian King Richard would Tell All Of Us When We Were On Court he thought Serena Could be better than Venus someday but Do Not EVER tell VW. LOVE THIS GUY,” Macci wrote in another post on X.

Although both Venus and Serena went on to become legends in their own rights, the younger Williams sister had more success. Serena went on to win an astonishing 23 Grand Slam titles during her illustrious career whereas Venus managed to win 7.

Off the court, the two sisters have always had the back of each other through thick and thin. Last month, the elder Williams sister made an emotional confession about her sibling.

Venus feels lucky to have Serena Williams by her side during her career

Apart from their singles commitments, the Williams sisters also played doubles together and went on to win 14 Grand Slam doubles titles. But even when the two of them were not on the court together, they could often be seen cheering each other from the stands. Last month, Venus Williams appeared on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show where she highlighted the impact Serena had on her career.

She said, “I had the honor of having great company in Serena and I learned so much from her too. She was younger by 15 months, but still younger, right? And she was the first in the family to win a Grand Slam even though I was the first to be on tour. I learned so much from her just by watching her – without her saying a word. You know by her courage, her character, and her fearlessness. And I was like I want that too – that’s how you win a major… I was so lucky to have that (inspiration) right at home.” 

While Serena Williams retired at the US Open in 2022, Venus hasn’t announced her retirement yet. However, she hasn’t played many tournaments this year and at 44, the time is now running out for her.